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Speaker 1: It's time for x'es and o's with Minnesota Vikings head

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Speaker 1: coach Kevin O'Connell on the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network now

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Speaker 1: from the TCO Studios at Egan. Here is the voice

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Speaker 1: of the Vikings, Paul Allen.

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Speaker 2: Welcome into x's and o's with Kevin O'Connell, presented by

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Speaker 2: Ken Moore. Minnesota needed to go to source everything high

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Speaker 2: school sports. That's why the Minnesota Starts Tribune created strib Varsity.

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Speaker 2: You can sign up now at startsubune dot com slash

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Speaker 2: strib Varsity. X's and o's Kevin O'Connell Lions week starts.

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Speaker 3: Now and boom, x'es and o's with Kevin O'Connell is

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Speaker 3: in the air.

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Speaker 4: Hi, Good morning, guys. How are you good now?

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Speaker 5: Are things doing all right?

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Speaker 4: Getting after it?

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Speaker 5: Excellent?

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Speaker 3: Excellent Lions this weekend and Kevin O'Connell x'es and o's

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Speaker 3: the Lions this weekend. Noon KFAM Thursday at SOFI against

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Speaker 3: the Chargers. That whole day I had a highlight. I

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Speaker 3: had a highlight from that day and I want to

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Speaker 3: see if it was like in the if you had

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Speaker 3: a highlight from that day and night. See if it's

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Speaker 3: in the same realm, sitting in the lobby of the

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Speaker 3: team hotel when you and Chris Finch met each other

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Speaker 3: for the first time, and to hear you guys talk

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Speaker 3: about game plans and how you put things together and

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Speaker 3: stuff like that, that that was an honor, man, that

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Speaker 3: was really really cool.

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Speaker 5: First time you met Benchi.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, it was awesome. I've been a fan of his

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Speaker 6: for a long time. And and getting a chance to

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Speaker 6: stay stay in the same hotel and connect for a

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Speaker 6: cup of coffee there and appreciate you helping to connect

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Speaker 6: connect those two worlds, you know, moving very quickly, but

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Speaker 6: we found a little bit of time. And unbelievable guy

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Speaker 6: and very smart and just I just love hearing you know,

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Speaker 6: other coaches, regardless of the sport, just leadership and how

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Speaker 6: they prepare their teams and how it's different from how

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Speaker 6: we do things right in the football world where it's

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Speaker 6: one game a week for seventeen plus weeks, and they're

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Speaker 6: playing a lot of games, and they're playing you know,

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Speaker 6: they're they're traveling a lot more, they're doing a lot

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Speaker 6: of different things and just you know, you can always

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Speaker 6: learn something, especially from somebody as smart as as Finchy.

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Speaker 3: The x's and o's with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin

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Speaker 3: O'Connell as the topics today that include, but are not

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Speaker 3: limited to, jumbo packages, Jalen Naylor, Christian Darisaw beef theaters,

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Speaker 3: and quarterback Carson Wentz, who has hit the injured reserve scenario.

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Speaker 5: He'll be out for the season.

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Speaker 3: We have talkbacks each and every week with Kevin O'Connell

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Speaker 3: Norto and here's that talk back.

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Speaker 7: Now, Hey, coach O'Connell, this is Brandon from North Dakota.

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Speaker 7: We're in obvious Carson Wentz territory here. I was at

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Speaker 7: his first game, bought custom.

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Speaker 4: Jersey all that. Obviously, the public doesn't.

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Speaker 7: Know what each player goes through week to week in

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Speaker 7: the NFL. Can you just speak to Carson's toughness those

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Speaker 7: five games and sort of what that meant to the

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Speaker 7: team in the locker room.

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Speaker 3: Thank you and and Carson, I believe for this year,

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Speaker 3: maybe forever will go down and I guess I'm speaking

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Speaker 3: for you right now, so if I'm wrong, I apologize.

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Speaker 3: He will go down as one of the gave his

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Speaker 3: very best when his very best was required, and he

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Speaker 3: didn't win them. All and he didn't complete them all,

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Speaker 3: but he gave his best.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, he did.

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Speaker 6: And uh, Brandon, that's a great question. I'm really glad

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Speaker 6: that you asked that question, because a lot of times

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Speaker 6: in the you know, the the weekend and week out

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Speaker 6: hustle and bustle of a season, you forget the commitment

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Speaker 6: that these players make to being out there for their

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Speaker 6: teammates and and Carson. When Carson got here, you know,

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Speaker 6: I was excited about getting to know the person in

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Speaker 6: the in the player who I had known a lot

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Speaker 6: about for for a lot of his career, but getting

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Speaker 6: him in here and watching the way he worked and

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Speaker 6: watched in the way he prepared both when he you know.

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Speaker 4: Was the you know, was the guy. Uh.

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Speaker 6: And and obviously before that, even you know, before he

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Speaker 6: knew if he would get any snaps this year based

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Speaker 6: upon you know, JJ and and and JJ's health. So

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Speaker 6: as we as we went into Carson's opportunity to play,

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Speaker 6: you know, very smart, obviously, big, strong guy. So he

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Speaker 6: he literally said to me, you know, when when he

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Speaker 6: first started playing, he was just so excited to play

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Speaker 6: meaningful football again. It had been a few years, he

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Speaker 6: had gotten a little time here and there, but playing

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Speaker 6: in real games with a chance for uh to to

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Speaker 6: help his hometown team and a team he grew up

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Speaker 6: rooting for win football games.

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Speaker 4: So throughout the journey with him, he you know, I was.

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Speaker 6: Really proud of the way he battled the both on

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Speaker 6: the field physically, and we can get to that here

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Speaker 6: in a second, but also just the mental side of

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Speaker 6: preparing and and trying to truly submerge himself in our offense,

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Speaker 6: and and and how to try to have a.

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Speaker 4: Lot of success.

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Speaker 6: And really four out of the five games, I think

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Speaker 6: we had over right around or higher than three hundred

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Speaker 6: and fifty yards of offense. So he was running the machine,

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Speaker 6: running the engine, and and you know there's always plays

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Speaker 6: where guy's getting his initial exposure to the offense where

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Speaker 6: either he would like to have him back, or play

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Speaker 6: calls I would like to have back, or ways we

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Speaker 6: could make things even more high level functioning as an offense.

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Speaker 6: But with what we were dealing with upfront, and and

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Speaker 6: some of the injury adversity there with you know, multiple

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Speaker 6: combinations playing in front of him during that time, his

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Speaker 6: consistency PA was really something to be admired.

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Speaker 4: And also the way he prepared each week.

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Speaker 6: Uh, you know, part of the you know, once he

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Speaker 6: once he sustained the initial injury to his left shoulder

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Speaker 6: against the Browns, it was really a matter of you know,

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Speaker 6: getting the medical uh you know interpretations where you know,

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Speaker 6: once Carson was told, you're you're gonna have to get

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Speaker 6: this fixed, but you really can't make it worse. I believe,

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Speaker 6: I believe his his his phrase to me was, I

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Speaker 6: want to take advantage of this out opportunity.

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Speaker 4: I get to play, I get to play with this.

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Speaker 6: Coaching staff and these players for the Minnesota Vikings. I

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Speaker 6: want to exhaust this every possible way that I can.

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Speaker 6: And and I know JJ will be back at some

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Speaker 6: point here as he gets healthy. But this is a

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Speaker 6: genuine opportunity where I can help this team win. And

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Speaker 6: the way he you know, consistently demonstrated such physical toughness

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Speaker 6: to go along with mental toughness, knowing that ultimately I'm

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Speaker 6: gonna have to get this fixed.

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Speaker 4: And and you.

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Speaker 6: Know a lot of guys play with uh torn laboroms

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Speaker 6: throughout the season. A lot of guys wear that harness,

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Speaker 6: but not everybody's a quarterback. And although it was not

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Speaker 6: his throwing shoulder, you're still going to take hits and

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Speaker 6: have to kind of weather the storm.

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Speaker 4: And and the dialogue.

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Speaker 6: Between Carson and myself was was great every single week

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Speaker 6: as long as he was able to have full strength

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Speaker 6: and knowing that the shoulder was stable, he felt like

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Speaker 6: he wanted to continue to give it a go and

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Speaker 6: and and play as long as he possibly could, knowing

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Speaker 6: he was helping the team and in some tough circumstances,

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Speaker 6: but also the opportunity to play and feel that again,

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Speaker 6: like Carson Wentz deserves to to feel so so much credit.

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Speaker 6: And I hope Vikings fans just understand, you know, his

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Speaker 6: commitment level to helping this team try to win some

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Speaker 6: football games and what it was like on the minute

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Speaker 6: to minute daily basis. And we've had a lot of guy,

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Speaker 6: tough guys play the quarterback position here, but Carson is

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Speaker 6: definitely somebody that deserves to be wildly applauded for his commitment,

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Speaker 6: his dialogue with with myself and our medical team throughout

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Speaker 6: that time, and ultimately, you know, we we had a

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Speaker 6: conversation pretty early in the morning when we arrived back

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Speaker 6: from LA and and kind of, you know, Carson for

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Speaker 6: the first time was like it's time I need to

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Speaker 6: I need to get this thing fixed. And and uh,

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Speaker 6: you know we were, we were in full support, as

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Speaker 6: as we were the whole time. But at the same time,

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Speaker 6: there is a mentality to the quarterback position where when

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Speaker 6: a guy is so committed and so all in and

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Speaker 6: does not want to be taken off the field, you

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Speaker 6: you know, you have to honor I don't know if

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Speaker 6: it's the former quarterback in me or not, or Josh

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Speaker 6: McCown and as his quarterback coach, you know, having been

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Speaker 6: in the arena the way Josh was as a quarterback

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Speaker 6: in the NFL for a long time, you want to

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Speaker 6: give the warrior a chance to kind of exhaust those opportunities.

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Speaker 6: And once again, knowing that he couldn't make it worse,

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Speaker 6: and knowing inevitably he would have to get it fixed.

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Speaker 6: And while JJ was working his way back, you wanted

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Speaker 6: to make sure we gave him every opportunity to do that.

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Speaker 6: I'm really proud of Carson and we'll forever have a

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Speaker 6: bond because of, you know, this time together.

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Speaker 5: So I mean that has to be difficult.

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Speaker 3: During the course of a game, you're managing a game,

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Speaker 3: you're calling the plays, all right, so you're down multiple scores, yep.

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Speaker 3: But I've just learned over the years how all of

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Speaker 3: you are wired. Whether you're down you know, eight or

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Speaker 3: say nine, seventeen or whatever, is really until it's over,

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Speaker 3: You're not going to say it's over. So therefore, I

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Speaker 3: think is it fair to say that all side we

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Speaker 3: were all sides feel the best decision was always being

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Speaker 3: made in in in in with with Carson Wentz and

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Speaker 3: and his health in mind. In other words, when I say,

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Speaker 3: you know, Carson, yes, I want to play you. Yes,

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Speaker 3: I want you to play obviously, medical staff and everything

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Speaker 3: it seems like, and and the surgery too, the season,

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Speaker 3: in the surgery, it seems like all sides feel the

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Speaker 3: best decisions always were made.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, And I think it's very very important that the

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Speaker 6: dialogue with myself and the player always takes place after

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Speaker 6: the dialogue with the player and the medical staff, and

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Speaker 6: then the medical staff making sure that you know, uh one,

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Speaker 6: Carson is capable of continuing. The circumstances really had not

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Speaker 6: changed from the time he sustained the injury kind of

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Speaker 6: late in the first half against the Cleveland Browns. It

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Speaker 6: was really just, you know, the ability to just tolerate

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Speaker 6: when certain types of hits or falls on that shoulder

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Speaker 6: happened the pain tolerance, and and that's where Carson had

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Speaker 6: made the determination that he wanted to, you know, fight

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Speaker 6: and and really play as long as he possibly could.

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Speaker 6: And there were some times there in the second half

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Speaker 6: where you know, as a head coach, you're you're you're

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Speaker 6: looking for confirmation from Carson and the medical staff that

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Speaker 6: you know, uh, he's still good to go, and you

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Speaker 6: get that, and ultimately you want to do what's best

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Speaker 6: for the player and ultimately give him an opportunity to

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Speaker 6: kind of as long as medically you're in the clear,

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Speaker 6: you want to make sure you give that player the runway,

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Speaker 6: especially with the kind of toughness and determination that Carson

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Speaker 6: had to kind of finish the job.

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Speaker 4: And you're right, we don't. Ever.

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Speaker 6: Our game is one where you're always a player two

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Speaker 6: away from either getting back in the game. Even off

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Speaker 6: of you know, Josh Mattel's interception and we score that touchdown,

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Speaker 6: you're really thinking one stop and then you get one more.

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Speaker 6: That's how we think, that's how we compete. That's how

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Speaker 6: we've been able to come back and and win a

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Speaker 6: lot of ones score games by having that mentality. As

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Speaker 6: games go and and as games kind of come towards

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Speaker 6: the finish line, you find a way to win a

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Speaker 6: football game. And you're if you're ever in this business

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Speaker 6: and thinking that you are not playing like that, you're

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Speaker 6: probably not not in the right business. And and that

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Speaker 6: goes for coaches and players and uh, that just speaks

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Speaker 6: to who Carson is and but not no Pa, And

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Speaker 6: there was never a point in time where medically we

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Speaker 6: were going against the grain of what was in Carson,

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Speaker 6: Carson's best interest and ultimately what Carson ultimately wanted to

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Speaker 6: kind of see through until he ultimately made the decision

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Speaker 4: Which have so much.

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Speaker 6: Respect for not only the commitment to play as he

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Speaker 6: as he showed and many of the things he did

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Speaker 6: playing on the field for our team, but also that

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Speaker 6: when when Carson said it was time and and and

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Speaker 6: he wanted to get that thing fixed, you know, we

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Speaker 6: wanted to make sure that we were in full support

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Speaker 6: of that.

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Speaker 2: Join us for the Friday Football Feest this way, Buffalo

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Speaker 2: schedule and details. More X and O's around the corner

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Speaker 2: Back to X and O's with Kevin O'Connell.

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Speaker 3: Josh Allen one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL

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Speaker 3: all right in twenty eighteen when he was a rookie.

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Speaker 3: Ten touchdowns, twelve interceptions, fifty two percent on the completions. Okay,

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Speaker 3: you look at that then, and you look at Josh

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Speaker 3: Allen now or really from like his twenty second start on, boy,

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Speaker 3: he's become one of the very best in the NFL. So,

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Speaker 3: do you have a number or is it impossible to

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Speaker 3: have a number, Like, I can't put a blanket on

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Speaker 3: what I think about this situation until I see how

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Speaker 3: many games.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I think it's hard to you know, it's hard

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Speaker 6: any way to put a number on that. I think

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Speaker 6: you have to go with the real what are you

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Speaker 6: seeing with your eyes? What are what's being absorbed, what

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Speaker 6: are the where's the improvement, where's the growth? Where's the

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Speaker 6: consistency of some of the things that have been coached

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Speaker 6: and some of the things that have been identified as

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Speaker 6: things that need to happen to see that ascension kind

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Speaker 6: of take place.

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Speaker 4: It gets even more difficult.

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Speaker 6: Pa to put a number on that, considering an entire

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Speaker 6: year on the grass was lost. So now you're in

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Speaker 6: a situation where you're trying to, you know, if you're

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Speaker 6: drawing up the ideal way of bringing along a quarterback,

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Speaker 6: losing a year on the grass is not ideal. But

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Speaker 6: at the same time, you know the type of worker

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Speaker 6: and the type of you know, off the field traits

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Speaker 6: and the physical traits JJ has. You want to continue

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Speaker 6: to pour into those and try to accelerate that wherever possible.

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Speaker 4: And that's when ultimately, whether.

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Speaker 6: It's playing in a game where you didn't practice a

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Speaker 6: whole lot because of some circumstances, or you you know,

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Speaker 6: have another injury and you lose time, all of that

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Speaker 6: makes it even more difficult to project.

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Speaker 4: When that number is.

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Speaker 6: When that time comes where you truly know exactly what

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Speaker 6: you have and until then, you've you've got to have

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Speaker 6: the opportunities to continue to give the runway for a

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Speaker 6: guy to show that growth. And we're still very early

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Speaker 6: on in that process. Maybe not along the timeline because

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Speaker 6: of some of the circumstances, but as far as actual

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Speaker 6: game action, JJ's going to start his third game, you know,

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Speaker 6: against the Detroit Lions coming up this Sunday.

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Speaker 3: Tied in Ben Simms. You always like Ben Simms undrafted

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Speaker 3: from Baylor. I remember when he got here, and you

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Speaker 3: know you weren't super happy when he got plucked up

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Speaker 3: the practice squad, but other teams get to do that,

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Speaker 3: but you always liked him, right, Yeah.

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Speaker 6: Ben's another one of those guys that Brian Angelico or

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Speaker 6: Tenan's coach really became fond of, and you know, right

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Speaker 6: in the mix to maybe get drafted, and you don't.

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Speaker 6: You don't have a chance to draft him, so you

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Speaker 6: find a way any way possible to try to get

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Speaker 6: him to still become a Minnesota Viking. And as hard

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Speaker 6: of a decision as we've had roster wise, you know,

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Speaker 6: Ben being probably that fifty third fifty three point five

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Speaker 6: player that year, you're just hoping that you maybe get

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Speaker 6: him back to continue that ascension on the practice squad

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Speaker 6: and then ultimately with the rules now in the elevations,

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Speaker 6: you really do have more than just your fifty three

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Speaker 6: guys on the roster to go ahead and form a

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Speaker 6: game day of forty eight or you know, depending on

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Speaker 6: how many guys you have up. So very much we're

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Speaker 6: kind of waiting for the day we could maybe get

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Speaker 6: him back here, and it did finally come and he

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Speaker 6: arrived here late last night. He's in here today getting

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Speaker 6: back acclimated, but very excited to have Ben Simms back

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Speaker 6: back of board.

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Speaker 5: Yep, quickly.

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Speaker 3: Just two to close, one on the Lions, one on

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Speaker 3: Jail and Naylor Jalen Naylor, despite his stats not being

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Speaker 3: anything huge and due to circumstances in my opinion, mostly

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Speaker 3: out of his control. I think, is he having a

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Speaker 3: sneaky really good season here?

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Speaker 4: Yes?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean he's yeah, Like, why.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, he's you know, there's just so many things that

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Speaker 6: he can do PA that that help our offense go,

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Speaker 6: and it doesn't always equal, you know, a bunch of

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Speaker 6: catches and a bunch of targets and things like that.

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Speaker 6: But when his number has been called, he's been huge

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Speaker 6: he's had. You know, you think back to the first

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Speaker 6: game that that big catch towards the end of the

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Speaker 6: half to get us into world record field goal range

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Speaker 6: for three points there that inevitably ended up being the

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Speaker 6: three points we needed to win the game. Third down

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Speaker 6: conversions versus Cincinnati tight coverage, playing through contact, his ability

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Speaker 6: to function you know, in the box as a as

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Speaker 6: a receiver and eleven personnel and be physical and do

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Speaker 6: some do some jobs, and then ultimately both him and

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Speaker 6: Adam with where we've been at, you know, at the

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Speaker 6: tackle position for for a good chunk of our season,

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Speaker 6: using those guys as you know, in many ways as

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Speaker 6: that second tight end type body so that you can

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Speaker 6: try to get some help on the edges while still

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Speaker 6: allow TJ. Hockinson to you know, occasionally run a route

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Speaker 6: free from having to do some dirty work at the

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Speaker 6: start of the snap.

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Speaker 5: Right.

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Speaker 6: It's all part of kind of that team philosophy, guys

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Speaker 6: doing things for the greater good of the of the group.

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Speaker 6: But at the same time, you want to make sure

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Speaker 6: those guys and especially Jalen get their opportunity to impact

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Speaker 6: the game, because he's proven time and time again he

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Speaker 6: can do that.

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Speaker 3: With with Ben Johnson gone to Chicago Lions or next

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Speaker 3: Do they still run tricks? I mean, do we still

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Speaker 3: see pine sewel on jets wapes?

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Speaker 4: They still they still do a lot of those things.

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Speaker 4: J T.

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Speaker 6: Barrett actually is in Chicago with Ben. I know JT

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Speaker 6: had a lot to do with their their trick, their

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Speaker 6: trick play arsenal that they had there with Ben in Detroit.

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Speaker 4: But yeah, it's all.

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Speaker 6: Still there these players, It's part of their DNA. You

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Speaker 6: got to be ready for double passes, reverses, you gotta

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Speaker 6: be ready for them to try to get unique ways

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Speaker 6: to get maybe Jamison Williams down the field as the

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Speaker 6: explosive player he is obviously we know Gibbs and Montgomery

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Speaker 6: and then am and Ra you know, as you know,

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Speaker 6: as as as consistent and impactful as a complete receiver

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Speaker 6: as there are there really is in the NFL. He

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Speaker 6: can do it inside outside, you know, man's own. So

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Speaker 6: they really don't. They have the type of weaponry that

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Speaker 6: they don't need to dip into that arsenal very often,

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Speaker 6: but they do clearly still have the capabilities. And with

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Speaker 6: Jared Plain as high at a higher level as he

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Speaker 6: is right now, he's been wildly consistent and just continues

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Speaker 6: to propel that offense to be very very difficult to

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Speaker 6: play against.

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Speaker 4: Going to be a challenge for.

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Speaker 3: Us and Dan Skipper with the jumbo package you just

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Speaker 3: came back lastly for your defense, I'm just going to

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Speaker 3: go numbers to have sixty one, ninety three, ninety seven,

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Speaker 3: forty three, fifty eight with fifty one, I'll just stop

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Speaker 3: it right there, Van Ginkel, if and or Wenny returns,

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Speaker 3: hopefully it's this weekend with that group right there, What

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Speaker 3: moving forward through the final ten do you need to

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Speaker 3: see from Javon Hargrave.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just the consistency

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Speaker 6: factor of the balance between technique fundamentals within the scheme required.

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Speaker 6: It's not just about individually winning your matchup and trying

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Speaker 6: to make a play. In many ways, our guys want

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Speaker 6: so badly to make that play that sometimes guys are

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Speaker 6: maybe straining outside maybe their initial responsibilities to maybe make

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Speaker 6: a play here there. It's all credited to the deep

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Speaker 6: down desire to try to do things to help our

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Speaker 6: team win. So that's an extreme positive and we've just

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Speaker 6: got to play. Our defense is at their best in

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Speaker 6: my opinion, and really in Flows opinion, when we have

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Speaker 6: eleven guys all you know in unison, totally connected, playing

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Speaker 6: as one group, where the plays come to everybody within

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Speaker 6: our defense. As Pa, we saw a year ago with

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Speaker 6: the turnovers that were forced the negative plays. What we've

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Speaker 6: got to do is maintain the discipline of that through

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Speaker 6: each and every snap and play with the physicality and

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Speaker 6: the disruption that has kind of been a hallmark of

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Speaker 6: Flows defense since he got here. We just needed a

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Speaker 6: little bit more consistently. Obviously, getting Van van Ginkel back

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Speaker 6: will be a huge just because he is able to

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Speaker 6: do so many jobs within the defense that allows other

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Speaker 6: guys to really be in their comfort zone of doing

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Speaker 6: the things that they were either brought here for or

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Speaker 6: they've consistently shown throughout their careers. So I think it's

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Speaker 6: a lot of puzzle pieces, but he's obviously a very

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Speaker 6: big part of it, and hope to have him back

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Speaker 6: as soon as possible.

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Speaker 3: Great and your Yeah, thanks Pa, Thanks for the time.

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Speaker 3: Kevin O'Connell, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. That's x'es

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Speaker 3: and O's into the Lions Game.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of X's

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Speaker 2: and O's that Kevin O'Connell, presented by Ken Moore. X's

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Speaker 2: and O's is a production of the Minnesota Vikings Audio

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Speaker 2: Network